The LSE Directory / CFD and forex brokers
Tickmill is a multi-asset online brokerage offering contract-for-difference (CFD) trading across forex, commodities, stock indices, individual stocks and ETFs, bonds and cryptocurrencies, plus direct market access to exchange-traded futures and options through its UK entity, Tickmill UK Ltd. Clients trade through MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, an integrated TradingView connection, and the firm's own Tickmill Trader mobile app, choosing between a commission-free Classic account (spreads from 1.6 pips), a Raw account (spreads from 0.0 pips plus a $3 per lot commission), and a TradingView-linked Raw account ($3.50 per lot commission). The group also offers Islamic (swap-free) and demo accounts. The firm runs a no-dealing-desk model, passing retail client orders through to liquidity providers rather than warehousing them internally, an approach its co-founders have said was a deliberate break from the dealing-desk brokerages they previously worked at in Estonia's retail forex industry. Structurally it differs from many single-entity retail CFD brokers by operating four separately regulated entities, in Seychelles, the UK, Cyprus and South Africa, plus a Dubai representative office, which lets it combine looser-regulated retail reach with FCA and CySEC licenses (Tickmill UK Ltd, register 717270; Tickmill Europe Ltd, licence 278/15) that require segregated client funds and give UK and EU clients compensation-scheme cover (FSCS and ICF respectively) that its Seychelles-only competitors do not provide. Tickmill was founded in August 2014 in Mahe, Seychelles, by brothers Ingmar and Illimar Mattus, both previously in Estonia's retail forex industry; Ingmar had headed brokerage at Admiral Markets and run Armada Markets before the launch. The firm began offering retail brokerage services in January 2015 and added CFD stock indices and WTI crude oil that March. By its own current reporting, the group serves more than 623,000 clients with over 1.2 million registered accounts across more than 180 countries, has executed more than 830 million trades, and employs 330-plus staff, with Tickmill UK Ltd based in London and Tickmill Europe Ltd based in Limassol, Cyprus. Tickmill reported a record 2025: total client trading volume of $2.36 trillion for the year, averaging $197 billion a month (a 40% increase in average monthly volume on the prior year), across 123 million trades, alongside a 27% rise in active clients and 32% growth in headcount. The year also included a company brand refresh and, in October 2025, the opening of a licensed office in Kuwait City as part of a wider push into the Middle East and North Africa.
